


leaving monmouth

by ronanlynchisneversleepingagain



Series: trk missing scenes [4]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: M/M, Poor Gansey, oops this is sadder than i intended
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-16
Updated: 2016-07-16
Packaged: 2018-07-24 07:33:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7499547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ronanlynchisneversleepingagain/pseuds/ronanlynchisneversleepingagain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adam hated to think of Gansey alone in Monmouth, without Ronan or even Noah, but Ronan’s own yearning for the Barns was so acute that Adam could see the strain of staying grow every day.</p><p>Or, Adam helps Ronan move out of Monmouth Manufacturing and Gansey is sad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	leaving monmouth

    When the dust had settled on their Glendower quest and Aglionby beckoned them back, only Gansey and Adam returned. Gansey, tired of the fight, finally allowed Ronan his head. Ronan waited nearly two months but when he was sure that Gansey was _Gansey_ and _alive_ , he announced that he would move back to the Barns. The next week, Adam helped Ronan pack up his things at Monmouth while Gansey watched sadly, perched on his bed. Blue and Henry had begun by then to fill the gaps of Gansey’s time with talks of a roadtrip after graduation, but Adam knew the sudden absence of purpose would be harder for Gansey to fill. The absence of Ronan in the room next door might be even worse. He hated to think of Gansey alone in Monmouth, without Ronan or even Noah, but Ronan’s own yearning for the Barns was so acute that Adam could see the strain of staying grow every day.

          “It’s not like he’s moving eight hours away,” Adam said, putting a box down next to Gansey’s bed and leaning against a post. Gansey shot him a rueful smile, because they both knew that although Ronan was only moving 30 minutes away, Adam would be taking Harvard up on its offer in the fall and _would_ be moving eight hours away. He had received the letter promising a full scholarship last week.

          Adam had carefully folded the letter into his wallet and sometimes ran his fingers over the thick paper to remind himself that it was real. It still felt like a dream.

          “New Haven is only six, you know,” Gansey said with a flick of his thumb.

          “Haven’t heard from them yet,” Adam said. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and his fingers sought the edges of his wallet.

          “You will,” Gansey said. He slid off the bed and clapped Adam on the shoulder.

          “You break the news to your parents yet that you won’t?” Adam asked.

          Gansey grimaced, which was all the answer Adam really needed. He didn’t envy Gansey the task, but the cards had already been dealt in Gansey’s favor. He had missed every deadline and only an obscene bribe would have sealed his admission to a university at this point. Adam was confident that Gansey could side-step that familial urge with his bid for a gap year.

          “We’re going up this weekend,” Gansey said. There was a time when Adam would have felt the pinch of rejection at not being included in that _we_ , but it no longer mattered. He would be at the Barns with Ronan and wouldn’t have gone to D.C. even if Gansey had asked.

           The door to Monmouth slammed open behind them, causing both of them to jump. Ronan had a small, black box in his hands and looked dangerously happy about it.

           “Dick!” he said, pointing at Gansey with one hand while clutching the black box to his throat with the other. It amplified his voice strangely, stretching it and making it a thin copy of the real Ronan’s voice. “Can you hear me?”

           “God, not that thing,” Gansey groaned. Ronan tossed it to him with a laugh and Gansey caught it neatly, turning it over in his hand. It was clearly a dream thing. It was too simple a contraption not to be – it didn’t even have a speaker in its smooth black surface. Gansey held it up to his own throat. “Ronan Lynch is an annoying asshole.”

           Adam laughed at the sour look that Ronan gave him and took the box from Gansey’s proffered hand.

           “Ronan Lynch can’t drive for shit,” Adam said and ducked out of the way as Ronan took a swipe at him. He ran over to the other side of the apartment with Ronan at his heels and threw the box back to Gansey.

           Gansey caught it easily and was just putting it to his throat to continue when Ronan managed to pry it from his hand and pocket it.

           “Aw, Gansey, I think we hurt his feelings,” Adam laughed.

           “You should kiss it better,” Gansey said, tilting his head meaningfully towards Ronan.

           Ronan sighed, martyred, and went back into his bedroom to throw things around. Eventually, Adam and Gansey joined him to finish off the last of Ronan’s things. How Ronan had managed to fit so many things into one small bedroom was beyond Adam – there was enough junk to outfit his small room in St. Agnes three times over.

           Blue came by later in the afternoon to steal Gansey away for what she claimed was a pre-scheduled driving lesson in the Pig, but Adam suspected it was a carefully orchestrated distraction so Gansey would not have to be there when Ronan left Monmouth that night. He was thankful either way. It wasn’t goodbye, but it felt enough like one to be painful.

           Adam leaned against the BMW after the last box was stuffed into the trunk and backseat. Ronan joined him a moment later, both of them sweaty and tired from the hot day.

           “I’m glad I won’t have this much to pack,” Adam said, thinking of his minimal possessions stuffed into the church attic. Beside him, Ronan tensed and Adam wanted to kick himself. It wasn’t that college was an off-limits topic – Ronan had been the one to announce his acceptance to Harvard to everyone after Adam had wanted to wait – but Adam tried to keep his wistful yearning for college to a minimum. He looked over at Ronan then and Ronan’s face was carefully blank, wiped clean of his good mood.

           “Hey,” Adam said, pushing himself off the car and planting himself in front of Ronan. Ronan’s blue eyes flicked over to him and Adam saw the slight pucker of Ronan’s lips as he schooled a frown. Ronan’s arms were crossed across his chest and Adam pushed at them gently. “Hold my hand,” Adam ordered.

           Ronan’s brow furrowed further, but he allowed Adam to pull his arms free of each other and lace their fingers together. Adam moved a little closer to him until there was barely a breath left between them.

           “You can make an eight hours drive in like five, right?” Adam asked quietly, leaning his forehead against Ronan’s. Ronan smiled, but just barely. His eyes were still sharp as they bore into Adam’s.

           “Nah,” Ronan said. “I’m a shit driver.”

           Adam kissed him.

**Author's Note:**

> do you ever get sad about how noah disappears and ronan inevitably leaves monmouth to go back to the barns and gansey is left alone? I DO.
> 
> [come talk to me about it on tumblr](http://ronanlynchisneversleepingagain.tumblr.com).


End file.
